PEP GUARDIOLA has admitted to knowing since August that Manchester City would have problems this season.

Guardiola is on course for his worst season as a manager, having never previously finished outside the top two with Barcelona, and having won the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons with Bayern Munich.

Manchester City sit fourth in the Premier League going into tomorrow's match against Hull, and unless they win the FA Cup, Guardiola will finish a campaign without a trophy for the first time as a manager.

He has pinpointed a lack of ruthlessness in attack and periods of slack defending as the reasons for their underperforming this season, and had concerns as early as their second match of the campaign, when they beat Steaua Bucharest 5-0 in a Champions League play-off.

Guardiola said: “I knew we had problems, especially in attack, in the first Champions League game against Steaua Bucharest.

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Pep Guardiola admits he knew Man City would struggle in attack before the season even started

“Normally, that game would be 12-0. We missed two penalties and so many chances. I was happy because the first target was to qualify but after that I realised we had to play really, really, really well to win Premier League games.

“Then we played well in three or four games but still didn’t win. We have to be honest with ourselves. We were not good enough to compete for the Premier League.”

However, Guardiola feels he has learned plenty from a difficult first season in England.

He said: “I will be better – definitely. This season was a lesson for me.

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“It’s normal when you have seven, eight or nine years as a manager to have a season where you don’t have as much success as before. It can happen.

“You learn about that. I don’t regret that I was not able to know that our problems in the boxes don’t solve themselves. It is part of our growth.”

Hull manager Marco Silva has put discussions over his future on hold as he plots the club’s great escape.

The Portuguese head coach has transformed City’s fortunes since replacing Mike Phelan in January, with the 4-2 midweek win over relegation rivals Middlesbrough lifting the Tigers out of the bottom three for the first time in almost six months.

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Manchester City currently sit fourth in the Premier League and are out of the Champions League

Hull are fourth in the Premier League form table with 17 points since the arrival of the 39-year-old to put them behind only Tottenham, Chelsea and Everton and better off than City.

Silva lost key duo Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore in the transfer window - but has silenced the critics who wrote off his appointment as a panic move by the Tigers, who are bidding to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

He is contracted until the summer and Hull are keen to tie him down to a lucrative long-term deal, and Silva said: “At this present time we have only one focus and that is to remain in the Premier League.

“There is no new contract offer at this stage but I have a good relationship with the owners, we’re in regular contract and there is big respect between us. At the end of the season we will talk, but at the moment we are all focussed on our goal and I’m happy here.”